Engraving machine having a gimbaled copying pencil



ENGRAVING MACHINE HAVING A GIMBALDED COPYING PENCIL Filed oct. 23, 1968 C. C. CLAAS July- 7,- 1970 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 l g F INVENTOR Attorney I July 7, 1970 x c, c. CLAAS 3,518,767

ENGRAVING MACHINE HAVING A GIMBALDED COPYING PENCIL Filed 001.. 23, 1968 .3 Shoots-Shoot 2 v Fig.2.

IINVENTORI Attorney United States Patent O 3,518,767 ENGRAVING MACHINE HAVING A GIMBALED COPYING PENCIL Christian C. Claas, Kornblumenweg 6, Singen, Hohentwiel, Germany Filed Oct. 23, 1968, Ser. No. 769,852 Claims priority, application Germany, Oct. 28, 1967,

Int. Cl. B43] 13/10 US. Cl. 33---24 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The present invention has as subject matter an engraving machine on which the copying pencil is hung on a Cardanic suspension and moves the tool support.

Engraving machines are already known in the art in a number of constructions. In one of the engraving machines the tool stands still and the table with the production part moves. The main disadvantage of this construction is that, because the mass of the table with the production parts is so very great, all the clampedpin production parts (i.e. the blanks to be engraved) must be equipped with certain devices which will take up the retarding or accelerating forces of these masses. One therefore needs certain guides and bearings which increases the price of the structure, because they must be present in rather large amounts, in order to render possible a fairly reliable operation.

Also known are constructions in which the table for the blanks to be engraved stands still, and where the tool is moved, the name for these devices is pantograph. The pantograph devices are best with the setback that one cannot transfer in a stepless manner the enlargement or size reduction ratio from the template or stencil to the part to be engraved. All the constructions of this kind which have become known thus far were rather complicated and requires a great number of bearings.

The problem to be solved by the present invention was how one might overcome such setbacks, how should one construct an engraving machine like this that the tool is moved, yet that all the masses are rather small, relatively speaking.

Then also by the engraving machine according to the invention one should be able to work with a greater precision, yet the machine should not contain very many bearings. In addition to satisfying such demands the machine according to the invention is more reliable in its operations because less bearings are present and because the transmission parts may be constructed in a sturdier manner.

Thus on the base of the present invention it is suggested that upon a mounting plate, which in a manner known in prior art also serves to accommodate the stencils by arranging three supporting or guide columns, two of which carry the worktable and serve simultaneously for the vertical guiding of the copying pencil which is hung from a Cardanic suspension, whereas the third column or support carries the tool support. One of .the advantages of my invention is that the tool support 3,518,767 Patented July 7, 1970 is attached upon the supporting column across a forked bearing which goes to a control lever which itself is articulated in a forked bearing.

Still another advantage of the invention is that the guide peg of the engraving diamond is supported so that it can be adjusted with respect to height, inside one collet of a gib of the tool support. It is preferred thereby that the point of attack of the copying pencil at the tool support lies accurately underneath the tip of the engraving diamond.

The invention shall now be described with reference to the attached sheets of drawings which shows just one typical example thereof.

FIG. 1 is a view in perspective of the engraving machine.

FIG. 2 is a lateral view of the engraving machine without the columns for the worktable for supporting the copying pencil.

As one may recognize from the drawings, the engraving machine consists essentially of the mounting or base plate 1 upon which are arranged supporting columns 4, 5 and 6 and consists of the tool support 10. The supporting columns 4 and 6 serve for the accommodation of the worktable 7 upon which the blanks, which shall become engraved, can be clamped or chucked in. This kind of chucking or clamping may occur as desired, it being a feature known in the prior art. On the columns 4 and 6 is attached the universal or Cardan joint of the copying pencil 9 in a corresponding crossbeam 21, it may be used as needed simply by a rearrangement of the crossbeam, and locked in place by the tightening of the screws 19.

It is possible hereby to equip the supporting column 6 in its upper region with a scale 20, whereby one can adjust the copying pencil fully as desired.

In the mounting plate 1 are located guide grooves for the stencils or templates 2 which are scanned by the tip of the copying pencil 9 and which then undertake the corresponding transfer to the blank which is to be engraved. The copying pencil 9 itself is supported in a universal or Cardan joint 8 which is located inside the crossbeam 21 and which can be adjusted with respect to its height by guiding it along the supporting columns 4 and 6.

The tiltability of the universal joint 8 is indicated by the tilting axes A-B and CD. In its upper region the copying pencil 9 is provided with a ball and socket joint 17 which cooperates with a lower gib arm 18 of the tool support 10 and which moves the tool support in correspondence to the tilting motion of the copying pencil. The universal joint 8 is mounted in an essentially rigid manner with respect to the mounting plate 1, across the supporting columns 4 and 6.

The tool support 10 is equipped with an upper gib arm 14 having a collet 13 at the end thereof for receiving a guide pin, or a sheath 12, which is guided vertically therein and carries an engraving diamond 11 held by holder 11 at its lower terminal end. The adjustment of the guide pin 12 may be accomplished by a manually operated lever (not shown) or by aid of other adjusting means such as setscrews etc. (not shown).

The blanks to be engraved are chucked or clamped in between the engraving diamond 11 and the worktable 7 which is reliably connected to the mounting plate 1.

The lower gib or fork arm 18 of the tool support 10 carries the ball and socket joint 17 of the copying pencil 9, and is equipped with a forked bearing 15 for a receiving a control lever 3, supported by another forked bearing 16 which is mounted on the supporting column 5. The tool support 10 may tilt in any direction and also move unimpededly with respect to the base plate 1 and with respect to other parts of this machine. The adjusting of the copying pencil 9 with respect to the tool support 10 occurs very simply by an adjustment of the crossbeam 21, which has not been shown in FIG. 2 for the sake of simplification, this also is the reason why the supporting columns 4 and 6 have not been shown in FIG. 2. By a simple adjustment of the crossbeam 21 any kind of motion made by the copying pencil from the stencil 2 is transferred to the blank to be engraved.

The two column guides 4 and 6 therefore serve for the accommodation and the support of the crossbeam 21 carrying the universal joint 8, whereas the supporting column carries the tool support 10.

The ball and socket joint 17, as shown in FIG. 2, lies directly underneath the engraving diamond 11 so that any tilting motion of the copying pencil 9 is accurately transferred to the engraving diamond 11.

The manner of operation of the Cardan or universal joint 8 in connection with the engraving machine shall be explained in somewhat different wording:

After the Cardan or universal joint 8 and crossbeam 21 has been adjusted (as illustrated by the fulcrums A-B and C-D as indicated in FIG. 2) to the desired transformation ratio, the copying pencil 9 is guided in the stencils or templates 2 and transfers its motion to the tool support 10. The tool support or carrier 10 moves about the axes E F and G-H as indicated in FIG. 2 by the aid of the control lever 3 so that the engraving diamond 11 will follow all the motions of the copying pencil 9. The engraving diamond 11 is pressed upon the production part or blank which is clamped on the worktable 7 thereby creating the desired engraving.

This control device 3 connecting the forked bearing 16 with the forked bearing may be of any type construction and any such modifications is intended to fall within the appended claims. In this way it is guaranteed, irrespective of the type of construction chosen, that the tool support 10 without requiring a large amount of force can move in response to the movement of the copying pencil 9 through the ball and socket joint 17 to accomplish an engraving that is free from any flaws.

I claim:

1. An engraving machine having a base plate:

a work table rigidly connected to said base plate;

a horizontally movable tool support comprising a pair of fork bearings having an articulate control lever disposed therebetween, the first of said pair fixedly attached to said base plate and the second of said pair attached to said arm whereby said proportional motion of said ball and socket joint is translated into a corresponding motion of said movable tool support;

a vertically adjustable cross beam;

a copying pencil having a lower portion, an intermediate portion, and an upper end;

a universal joint connecting the intermediate portion of said copying pencil to said cross beam;

an arm projecting from said tool support beneath said table;

a ball and socket joint connecting the upper end of the copying pencil to said arm whereby lateral motion of the lower portion of said pencil is translated into a proportional motion of said ball and socket joint.

2. The engraving machine of claim 1 wherein the base plate is provided with three vertical supporting columns, a first of said columns serving to fixedly attach the first of said pair of forked bearings to said base plate;

the second and third of said columns serving to support both said work table and said vertically adjustable cross beam. 3. The engraving machine of claim 1 further comprising an engraving tool, a guide pin and a collet;

said collet fixedly attached to said movable tool support and adapted to adjusta-bly receive said guide P said guide pin fixedly holding said engraving tool whereby said engraving tool is vertically adjustable with respect to said work table and motion of said copying pencil is translated into motion of said engraving tool.

4. The engraving tool of claim 3 wherein said guide pin, said collet, and said ball and socket joint are arranged coaxially to one another.

5. The engraving tool of claim 2 wherein at least one of said columns supporting said cross beam is provided with a scale for indicating the transmission ratio between the motion of the lower portion and the upper end of the copying pencil.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS FOREIGN PATENTS 2/1928 Great Britain. 12/1939 Italy.

Ives. Garrison. Stevens. Clark.

HARRY N. HAROIAN, Primary Examiner 

